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Fross Zelnick Partner Craig S. Mende named among "Top 50 Under 45" IP Law & Business

05.14.08

The "Top 50 under 45," is based on a rigorous review of the country's top "up and coming" IP law specialists.

NEW YORK, May 14, 2008 – Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu, a leading firm in trademark, copyright, design patent and unfair competition law, announced today that Fross Zelnick partner Craig S. Mende was named one of the “Top 50 under 45” intellectual property (IP) lawyers by IP Law & Business, which is published by ALM, publisher of The American Lawyer.

IP Law & Business noted that Mende, 43, successfully represented Troll Company of Denmark in a recent copyright case of first impression, in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed Troll Company’s exclusive ownership of the restored U.S. copyright in the famous fuzzy-haired Good Luck Troll doll under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, and upheld an injunction against Uneeda Doll Company’s distribution of look-alike “Wish-niks.” Among his other recent accomplishments, Mende represented several multi-national brands in successful efforts last year to force the NFL to abandon applications to register “THE BIG GAME” as its own trademark, and won the beegee.com and beegees.com domain names in arbitration proceedings on behalf of the BeeGees music group and Rhino Entertainment.

Mende is a 1991 graduate of New York University School of Law, where he received his J.D. degree magna cum laude and was a member of the Order of the Coif, and is a 1986 graduate of Haverford College, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honors in Philosophy. Following law school, Mende clerked for The Honorable Alan E. Norris on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, was an associate in the Litigation Department of Cravath, Swaine and Moore, and was a member of the Business and Legal Affairs Department of Arista Records.

IP Law & Business’ “Top 50 under 45,” published annually, is based on a rigorous review of the country’s top “up and coming” IP law specialists. The list will be made available in the May edition of IP Law & Business magazine.

About Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu, P.C. Fross Zelnick is consistently recognized by clients and peers as one of the top intellectual property law firms in the world specializing exclusively in trademark, copyright, design and unfair competition law. Fross Zelnick's areas of expertise include litigation, registering, protecting and defending trademarks and copyrights, managing global trademark and copyright portfolios, Internet law, protecting character and publicity rights, design rights, and intellectual property due diligence audits and reviews. Additional information about the firm can be found at www.frosszelnick.com.